The following letter was sent to Ms Kelly Miller, Secretary of the Corporation of Hamilton and copied to The Royal Gazette.

May 16, 2005

Dear Ms Miller,

I reside at Rockaway in Southampton, my place of employment is on the outskirts of Hamilton on St. John's Road. The reason I am sending this letter to you is in an effort to make a request for overnight parking at the Number One Shed in Hamilton.

Living in Rockaway I am a stone's throw away from the ferry, however, the challenge I face by commuting on the ferry is that I would have to walk in the rain and or hot sun on a daily basis in order to get to my place of employment by 8 a.m. I am sure there are other commuters who are in the same predicament and would appreciate having this alternative, than to be constantly having to face the morning traffic coming from the west end, especially when there is an accident between the hours of 7 a.m. and 9 a.m.

My request/suggestion is that the Corporation considers allowing night parking at the Number One Shed on Front Street. This would be for security reasons, rather than leaving a vehicle out in the public parking area where it could potentially be vandalised.

A permit can be granted for those who would like to use the overnight parking facility. At times, I am aware that the Number One Shed is used for other events; however, I don't see this as a major problem as the Corporation can inform the permit holders that no parking will be allowed during those times.

Should permission be granted for the overnight parking to members of the public, my suggestion, would be that the facilities be utilised only during the working nights (Mondays to Fridays) not during weekends and public holidays.

It is assumed that a minimal monthly fee maybe required. The security company will need to be informed that permission has been granted to the permit holders when closing at 6 p.m.

I feel this is an excellent idea and a solution to the long lines of traffic congestion coming into the city from the West End on week day mornings, not to mention the amount of gas consumed and pollution emitted on a weekly basis.

Thanking you in advance for your consideration of the above, as I look forward to your response. You may contact me at 292-4752 daily.

STUCK IN TRAFFIC

Southampton

EU and Bermuda

May 26, 2005

Dear Sir,

As a student of European politics and the EU, I read the comments of Mr. Walton Brown in the May 25 edition of The Royal Gazette with great interest. Mr. Brown made several suggestions that the new proposed European Constitution would infringe upon the economic rights of the Bermudian Government. While Mr. Brown is correct to suggest that ties between the EU and Overseas Territories are becoming institutionalised, I do not share the inference that this may be a bad thing. While arguments for or against Independence are beyond the scope of this letter, I think it is important to review the relevant text of the proposed Constitution as it relates to Bermuda.

Before I continue, let me just preface my comments with the following caveat. I am very much in favour of European integration. While there may be some outstanding issues in need of redress, I believe in the post-war idealism on which the EU and its related institutions were built upon. I also strongly believe that it is impossible for Bermuda to ever be truly independent given the globalising processes that are binding politics everywhere. A Bermuda with an institutional relationship with the EU might be better than one without it; especially when it comes to fending for ourselves in protecting the policies that have long made Bermuda successful.

Article III-286 of the proposed European Constitution establishes a form of association with British Overseas territories. The main responsibility thrust onto Bermuda by the new Constitution is that it does not discriminate in trade between member states and the UK (Article III-287, Section 2.B). Article III-288 goes on to prohibit customs duties (Section 2), however this was meant to disallow states from using trade policy for political means. There are several safeguards written into the treaty that apply to Bermuda's situation. Section 3 allows Overseas Territories to levy customs and duties to “produce revenue for their budgets”, and Section 4 nullifies the customs prohibition if the territory in question already applies a non-discriminatory tariff.

These provisions are meant to ensure that no EU member state can achieve an economic benefit over another in dealing with associated territories. Bermuda already applies a common standard of trade amongst Members; its tariffs discriminate on the basis of type of good, not by country. The implementation of the proposed European Constitution would require no new obligations on the part of the Bermudian Government.

Article III-291 governs other areas of possible intrusion from the European Union, such as the free movement of labour and public security. The Council of the European Union must unanimously adopt any recommendation made by the European Commission (and after consultation with the European Parliament) that seeks to extend any EU law or regulation onto the associated territories. Britain would vehemently object to any such intrusion on its affairs and would most likely reject such a measure, or at least would represent the interests of the Overseas Territories on the Council, where it has veto on such areas of policy.

Mr. Brown made a reference to the European Court of Justice in his comments. While arguments have been advanced to suggest that having a final court of appeal represents an erosion of sovereignty elsewhere as well, the presence of this institution may actually allow Bermuda to fight for, and advance its interests through the auspices of the UK Government. In fact, the wording of the new Constitution can actually be used as a point of reference in any future case where the European Union chooses to impose itself on Bermuda. Once again, referring to Article III-286, section 2 states that association is to serve “primarily to further the interests and prosperity of the inhabitants of these countries and territories in order to lead them to the economic, social and cultural development to which they aspire.” It is also important to note that the ECJ does not act as a traditional final court of appeal. It ensures the consistency of European Law by working with national courts throughout its jurisdiction.

Finally, the one reference made to “Overseas Territories” is a purely administrative one. Specifically, it refers to a declaration made by the United Kingdom in 1982 in which the term ‘British Dependent Territories Citizens' should be read as meaning ‘British overseas territories citizens'. This is a purely housecleaning provision that reflects changes in British Immigration law since 1982, and which, presumably, would extend the various protections which Britain has achieved for Overseas Territories under the old, multi-treaty regime to the new, constitutional one.

I hope I have shown that the new proposed European Constitution is not something to be feared and that Bermuda might actually benefit from an institutional relationship with the EU. Nonetheless, while I believe it to be very unlikely that EU directives would threaten the local status quo, it is important to recognise the costs and benefits of any action that would tie us to this fledgling superpower, especially before contemplating that ultimate step towards sovereignty.

RICHARD AMBROSIO

Political Science and Economics

McGill University, Montreal

Where was Kavin's story?

May 21, 2005

Dear Sir,

In today's paper, someone in your printing department made a boo-boo .

On the front page you have a picture of Kavin Smith, ‘Can't wait for May 24' on Page 25. There is no story or picture of him on page 25. In Friday's Royal Gazette there was a picture of Donawa, ‘Hopefully it will be my year', page 19. There is a picture and a full story of him but there is nothing nowhere of Kavin - nowhere. From the front page to the back page. Where are the proof readers? Please let's get it together.

S. C. SIMMONS

Sandys Parish

Editor's note: The story on Kavin Smith appeared in the May 23 edition. We apologise for the error.

Radar: A waste of money

May 22, 2005

Dear Sir,

The recent talk about speed and careless driving/riding on our roads brings to mind a game we played as children. “Here we go loop de loop, here we go loop de la” and it was repeated over and over again. This is not nearly the first time this situation has come up, and since it looks like the same measures are going to be put in place to fix it, it will not be nearly the last. The response, like all of the other times, is to “crack down”. By cracking down, radar is pulled out of mothballs, set up on the straightest most manageable stretches of our roads (none of which are frequent accident spots) and lots of speeding tickets are doled out to the general driving public.

The vast majority of the very ones who are calling for a “crackdown” drive faster than 20 miles per hour and probably have never been in an accident; but they are the ones who will be targeted and have to come up with fines that will follow. Nobody in Bermuda consistently drives at 20 miles per hour any more. It's too slow for today's Bermuda. I do not watch my speedometer when driving; I watch the road ahead. On the odd time that I do glance at the speedometer I am doing anywhere from 30 mph (which is my normal speed under normal conditions) up to 35 mph on clear, uncluttered stretches of road. I have not had an accident in over 40 years of driving. With the type of “crackdown” being considered (again), I (one of the safest drivers on the road) could end up with untold speeding tickets costing me untold amounts of time and money, and the crazies will still be out there wreaking havoc on the roads.

We do not need to spend tons of money on radar because we all already have the best possible equipment to use against the crazies. We were born with it. Our eyes. Just by looking any of us can tell if someone is driving in a manner that can cause an accident or not. Radar only tells us if someone is exceeding the speed limit, but not if they are driving dangerously. Instead of spending more money on radar, I would give the money to the Police Service so they can put more eyes on the roads. If we get more eyes on traffic, we can then see and target the crazies, and leave the rest of us poor slobs alone, even if we are (safely) driving a couple of miles over the speed limit. Instead of just increasing court revenue (with radar) and making general law abiding drivers poorer and more stressed out than they already are, let's do something that is really going to make a difference. Let's use more eyes and good sound judgment on our highways and by ways. Here we go loop de loop....

AL EASTMOND

Devonshire

DeVent must go

May 23, 2005

Dear Sir,

It's time for Ashfield DeVent to go as he is too slow. Nothing has been done for the housing since he has been put in change. All talk and that he cannot do that either. Housing should not be forced on people already over crowded and that's what has happened all over this Island.

Housing comes first. Nothing else matters - not Independence. People are desperate. What is the matter with this Government. Is it ‘I've got mine who cares about yours'?

DEVONSHIRE

‘Gone too far'

May 26, 2005

Dear Sir,

I have a few comments about what has happened with our young Bermudian people. First and foremost, I had a brother who died in Bermuda about ten years ago by a drunk driver in Shelly Bay area. Our lives have changed ever since that accident. The reason why I bring this topic up is because every time I heard that someone has died on our roads I get very emotional and I recall what has happened to to my brother. We have to put down a tough law about speeding on Bermuda roads because if we as the people don't do anything about this situation then the number of people that has died will increase during the year. Another comment I have to say is, we need more Police Officers on our roads to enforce the laws of the road without them our young people will be driving/riding like lunatics. I have seen teenagers that look like they are dancing with there bikes while speeding and this situation has gone too far.

My heart goes out to all the victims' families because I know how it feels losing someone you love.

CONNIE BENTO